U.S. patent number 5,647,559 [Application Number 08/498,651] was granted by the patent office on 1997-07-15 for apparatus for flight path correction of flying bodies.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Rheinmetall Industrie GmbH, TZN Forschungs und Entwicklungszentrum Unterluss GmbH. Invention is credited to Helmut Misoph, Rudolf Romer, Gerd Wollmann.
United States Patent |
5,647,559 |
Romer , et al. |
July 15, 1997 |
Apparatus for flight path correction of flying bodies
Abstract
An apparatus for flight path correction of flying bodies, such
as projectiles, rockets and the like, with the aid of a laser guide
beam, wherein the course of the respective flying body is
determined and processed in a measuring apparatus associated with
the firing apparatus and containing an optical receiving detector
in order to obtain an appropriate correction signal, and wherein
the correction signal is then transmitted, through encoding of the
laser guide beam, to a receiving apparatus disposed in the tail
portion of the flying body. To determine the course of the flying
body in a simple manner, both an optical light source for producing
a light beam and an optical receiving detector are disposed on the
measuring apparatus, and triple reflector or mirror elements, that
reflect the incident light beam back in its initial direction
independently of the respective angle of incidence, are disposed on
the bottom of the flying body or at the ends of the guiding
mechanism of the flying body. In rotating flying bodies, the triple
mirror elements are preferably distributed at irregular intervals
in a circle, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the flying
body. This arrangement makes it possible to use the signals
reflected by the triple mirror elements to determine the roll
position of the respective flying body.
Inventors: |
Romer; Rudolf (Kaarst,
DE), Wollmann; Gerd (Oberhausen, DE),
Misoph; Helmut (Lauf a.d. Pegnitz, DE) |
Assignee: |
Rheinmetall Industrie GmbH
(Ratigen, DE)
TZN Forschungs und Entwicklungszentrum Unterluss GmbH
(Unterluss, DE)
|
Family
ID: |
6523430 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/498,651 |
Filed: |
July 6, 1995 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Jul 16, 1994 [DE] |
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44 25 285.4 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
244/3.13;
250/206.1; 356/139.03 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F41G
7/305 (20130101); G01S 17/66 (20130101); G01S
3/786 (20130101); G01S 5/163 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F41G
7/20 (20060101); F41G 7/30 (20060101); G01S
17/00 (20060101); G01S 17/66 (20060101); G01S
5/16 (20060101); G01S 3/78 (20060101); G01S
3/786 (20060101); G01S 5/00 (20060101); F41G
007/26 () |
Field of
Search: |
;244/3.13,3.11
;356/139.03 ;250/206.1 ;102/513 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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0313246 |
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Oct 1988 |
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EP |
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2326676 |
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Sep 1976 |
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FR |
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2533697 |
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Jul 1975 |
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DE |
|
2853695 |
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Dec 1978 |
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DE |
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3103919A1 |
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Feb 1981 |
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DE |
|
1342875 |
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Oct 1972 |
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GB |
|
1529388 |
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Jul 1976 |
|
GB |
|
2041685 |
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Dec 1979 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Carone; Michael J.
Assistant Examiner: Montgomery; Christopher K.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Spencer & Frank
Claims
What is claimed:
1. In an apparatus for flight path correction of a projectile with
the aid of a laser guide beam, said apparatus including: a laser
guide beam producing device associated with a firing apparatus for
a projectile; and a measuring apparatus, associated with the firing
apparatus and contains an optical receiving detector, which
determines the course of the respective projectile from signals
received by the optical receiving detector, processes the
determined course to obtain an appropriate correction signal, and
causes the correction signals to be encoded on the laser guide beam
for transmission to a receiving apparatus disposed in a tail
portion of the respective projectile; the improvement wherein: for
determining the course of the respective projectile, said measuring
apparatus has, in addition to the optical receiving detector, an
optical light source for producing a light beam directed at the
projectile; and a plurality of triple reflector mirror elements,
which reflect the incident light beam back in its initial direction
to the optical receiving detector independently of the respective
angle of incidence, are disposed in a circle on a rear surface of
the projectile or at ends of a guiding mechanism of the projectile,
with said circle of triple reflector mirror elements being disposed
around a receiving optic for the laser guide beam.
2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the circle is
oriented perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the
projectile.
3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the triple reflector
elements are disposed at regular intervals.
4. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the firing apparatus
is an automatic cannon or machine gun.
5. In an apparatus for flight path correction of a projectile with
the aid of a laser guide beam, said apparatus including: a laser
guide beam producing device associated with a firing apparatus for
a projectile; and a measuring apparatus, associated with the firing
apparatus and containing an optical receiving detector, which
determines the course of the respective projectile from signals
received by the optical receiving detector, processes the
determined course to obtain an appropriate correction signal, and
encodes the correction signals on the laser guide beam for
transmission to a receiving apparatus disposed in a tail portion of
the respective projectile; the improvement wherein: for determining
the course of the respective projectile, said measuring apparatus
has, in addition to the optical receiving detector, an optical
light source for the purpose of producing a light beam directed at
the projectile; and a plurality of triple reflector elements, each
of which reflects an incident light beam back in its initial
direction independently of the respective angle of incidence, are
disposed on a rear surface of the projectile, with the plurality of
triple reflector elements surrounding a receiving optics for the
laser guide beam in an approximately circular shape, and with the
respective triple reflector elements being disposed in the circular
shape at irregular intervals.
6. An apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein each triple
reflector element is a triple mirror element.
7. An apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the circle is
oriented perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the
projectile.
8. An apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the projectile is a
spinning projectile.
9. An apparatus as defined in claim 5, wherein the firing apparatus
is an automatic cannon or machine gun.
Description
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is related to Applicants' copending U.S. Pat.
applications Ser. Nos. 08/438,619 (which corresponds to German
application No. P 44 16 210.3, filed May 7, 1994), and 08/438,018
(which corresponds to German application No. 44 16 211.1, filed May
7, 1994), both of which were filed on May 8, 1995 and both of which
are incorporated herein by reference.
This application claims the priority of German application Serial
No. 44 25 285.4, filed Jul. 16, 1994, which is incorporated herein
by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an apparatus for flight path correction of
flying bodies, such as projectiles, rockets and the like, with the
aid of a laser guide beam. More particularly, the present invention
relates to an apparatus for flight path correction of flying bodies
such as projectiles, rockets and the like, with the aid of a laser
guide beam, wherein the course of the respective flying body is
determined in a measuring apparatus, which is associated with the
firing apparatus and contains an optical receiving detector, and
processed in order to obtain an appropriate correction signal, and
wherein these correction signals are then transmitted, through
encoding of the laser guide beam, to a receiving apparatus disposed
on the tail side in the respective projectile.
To increase hit probability, particularly in combat involving
moving targets, correction of the projectile flight path,
especially at an increased range, is imperative in addition to
optimum fire control and a short flight time. For this purpose, it
is necessary to determine the projectile course and, in rotating
projectiles, the roll angle position, so that the correction pulses
can be triggered at the proper time in order to achieve an
approximation of the desired flight path.
To determine the projectile course, it is already known from German
Patent No. 25 43 606 C2 and published German Patent application No.
41 10 766 A1 to dispose a light source, for example a pyrotechnical
illuminating composition or a laser light source, on the respective
projectile, and an optical receiver in a measuring apparatus
associated with the firing apparatus. The major disadvantage of
these known apparatuses is the outlay associated with the
arrangement of a separate light source on the respective
projectile.
Also known are apparatuses in which the respective projectile
course is not determined by a measuring apparatus associated with
the firing apparatus, but by the respective projectile itself. To
this end, a laser beam which rotates about the desired flight path
of the projectile is used. The receiving apparatus disposed on the
side of the projectile then determines the course of the projectile
from the delay time between a reference position and the position
at which the laser beam impacts the projectile tail. A disadvantage
of this apparatus is the relatively high outlay required for the
projectile-side receiving apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus of the
type mentioned at the outset, with which the course of flying
bodies can be determined in a simple manner.
This object is generally achieved according to the present
invention by an apparatus for flight path correction of flying
bodies, such as projectiles, rockets and the like, with the aid of
a laser guide beam, which apparatus includes a laser guide beam
producing device associated with a firing apparatus for the flying
body, and a measuring apparatus, associated with the firing
apparatus and containing an optical receiving detector, which
determines the course of the respective flying body from signals
received by the optical receiving detector, processes the
determined course to obtain an appropriate correction signal, and
causes the correction signals to be encoded on the laser guide beam
for transmission to a receiving apparatus disposed in the tail
portion of the respective flying body; and wherein: for determining
the course of the respective flying body, the measuring apparatus
has, in addition to the optical receiving detector, an optical
light source for producing a light beam directed at the flying
body; and at least one triple reflector element, which reflects the
incident light beam back in its initial direction, independently of
the respective angle of incidence, is disposed on a rear surface of
the flying body or at ends of a guiding mechanism of the flying
body.
The triple reflector element preferably is a triple mirror element
and, according to the preferred embodiment, a plurality of these
triple reflector elements are disposed on the flying body and are
arranged in a circle, oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal
axis of the flying body, around a receiving optics for the laser
guide beam. The triple reflector elements normally are disposed in
the circle at regular intervals. However, in a rotating flying
body, the triple mirror elements are preferably distributed at
irregular intervals in the circle perpendicular to the longitudinal
axis of the flying body, which makes it possible to use the signals
reflected by the triple mirror elements to determine the roll
position of the flying body.
The essential concept underlying the invention is to perform the
course measurement in the measuring apparatus associated with the
firing apparatus, as in the above mentioned DE 25 43 606 C2 and DE
41 10 766 A1. Unlike the systems in these two cases, however, not
only the optical receiving detector, but also the light source
necessary for course measurement are disposed in the measuring
apparatus. On the bottom, the respective projectile has one or a
plurality of triple reflector elements which reflect the light beam
coming from the measuring apparatus back to the measuring
apparatus, thus permitting the determination of the position of the
flying body in space (tracking).
To achieve good utilization of space on the flying body and the
highest possible intensity at the receiving detector, the triple
reflector elements are advantageously secured in an approximately
circular shape around a receiving optics which is typically
disposed centrally, and through which the laser guide beam passes
as it travels into the receiving apparatus on the flying body.
In the case of flying bodies possessing a guide mechanism, the
triple reflector elements can also be disposed at the ends of the
guide mechanism.
When using rotating flying bodies, it has proven particularly
advantageous to dispose the triple reflector elements at irregular
intervals around the receiving optics. This is because, in this
case, the evaluation of the light signals reflected by the triple
reflector elements (e.g. by spatially high-resolution matrix
detectors) permits the roll position of the respective flying body
to be determined in a simple way on the bottom and used in the
selection of the correction time. Complicated determination of the
roll angle by additional instrumentation in the flying body (e.g.,
a gyroscope) is omitted in this instance.
Further details and advantages of the invention ensue from the
following embodiments described in conjunction with the drawing
figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 schematically shows an apparatus for flight path correction
of projectiles that includes a firing apparatus and a measuring
apparatus according to the invention for determining the projectile
course.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the bottom of a projectile having triple
reflector elements according to the invention disposed at regular
intervals in a circle.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the bottom of a projectile having triple
reflector elements according to the invention disposed at irregular
intervals in a circle.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section of the tail or rear part of a
projectile having triple reflector elements and a receiving
apparatus according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to FIG. 1, a machine gun or automatic cannon 1 having
a fire-guidance system 2 for data acquisition, and a laser
apparatus 3 for producing a laser guide beam 4 are shown
schematically. A flying body or projectile 5 is fired from machine
gun 1 at a target 6.
A measuring apparatus 7 essentially comprising a laser 8, an
optical receiving detector 9 and an electronic evaluation unit 10,
is provided for measuring the course of projectile 5. Laser 8
produces a laser beam 11, which is reflected by triple reflector
(mirror) elements disposed on a bottom surface 12 of the projectile
5 and described in detail further below. The reflected laser beam
13 subsequently passes into receiving detector 9 of measuring
apparatus 7, and is further processed in evaluation unit 10 in
order to determine the course of projectile 5 and, if necessary, to
determine the roll position of projectile 5, and to provide any
necessary correction signal. The appropriate correction signal
produced by the evaluation unit 10 is fed to the laser apparatus 3
which encodes the correction signals on the laser guide beam for
transmission to a receiving apparatus disposed in the tail portion
of the respective projectile 5.
FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the bottom or rear surface 12 of
projectile 5. A receiving optics indicated by 14 is passed through
by guide beam 4 as it travels into a receiving apparatus disposed
in the tail or rear part of projectile 5 in order to trigger, in a
known manner, appropriate correction pulses for altering the course
of projectile 5. Triple reflector elements 15, which reflect laser
beam 11 back to measuring apparatus 7 (FIG. 1), are distributed
uniformly, i.e., at regular intervals, in a circle perpendicular to
the longitudinal axis 100 (see FIG. 4) of the projectile 5 and
around the receiving optics 14.
The triple reflector elements 15 are known per se and each includes
three mirror surfaces 15' offset from one another by 90.degree. and
oriented such that a light beam incident on a surface 15' of a
triple element 15 is diverted by 180.degree. after threefold
reflection, and returns in the initial direction. The beam
diversion is independent of the angle of incidence.
In a rotating projectile 5, the roll position of the projectile
must also be known in order to determine the proper correction time
and the proper correction angle. In accordance with the invention,
the roll position can be determined in a particularly simple way
with the aid of the laser light beams reflected by the respective
triple reflector elements 15 if the triple elements 15 are
distributed at irregular intervals in a circle perpendicular to the
longitudinal axis 100 of the projectile 5 and around the receiving
optics 14 on the bottom surface of the projectile 5. This is
illustrated in FIG. 3. In this instance, the bottom surface of a
spin-stabilized projectile is indicated by 12'. The receiving
optics for the guide beam is again indicated by 14, and the triple
reflector elements are again indicated by 15.
FIG. 4 shows the longitudinal section of the tail or rear part of a
projectile 5 having a projectile bottom surface as shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 again illustrates how laser beam 11 is reflected by the
surfaces of the respective triple reflector elements 15, and how
guide beam 4 passes through receiving optics 14 (indicated as a
lens in the illustrated example) into the receiving apparatus. The
receiving apparatus of the illustrated embodiment essentially
comprises two optical sensors 16 and 17, as well as respective
polarizers 18, 19, which are disposed upstream of the sensors 16
and 17 in the direction of the longitudinal axis 100 of the
projectile 5, and an electronic evaluation unit 20 which generates
appropriate signals for triggering correction charges (not shown).
The illustrated embodiment of the receiving apparatus is described
in greater detail in the above mentioned copending U.S. patent
applications.
Sensor 16 serves as a roll position sensor, and can be omitted in
the determination of roll position if the triple reflector elements
15 are disposed at irregular intervals as shown, for example in
FIG. 3. Sensor 17 represents the actual receiving sensor for the
correction signals. The electrical signals generated by sensor 17
are decoded in evaluation unit 20, and an appropriate position
correction of the respective projectile 5 is initiated, for example
through the ignition of a correction charge.
The invention now being fully described, it will be apparent to one
of ordinary skill in the art that any changes and modifications can
be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the
invention as set forth herein.
* * * * *